Auckland: A's (12/14/2005)

Hi All.

My uneducated inklings tell me that Auckland is the world's only major city to watch the sun rise and set over the same ocean. Sitting between two harbors like an amulet on New Zealand's neck, the archapelago's largest city is a hint of London, a dash of San Francisco, dabbled with tiny touches of Hamburg sans St. Pauli.

Its title, "The World's Largest Polynesian City," is misleading - perhaps concocted by desperate marketers (though I doubt it). By world standards it is neither large (only 1 million people), nor particularly Polynesian (major whitey mojo). The main drag is very similar to Washington Street in Boston, and the suburbs crawl out in rows where the bays let them. Then again, the Polynesians are far from the urban folk, and a million-plus city on any of their islands undoubtedly incites wowery. And as home to a quarter of NZ's population, it's hard to ignore or deny.

Undeniable, though, are its volcanic origins, as grassy peaks and craters jut throughout the town's complexion (picture a city with a major bout of green acne.) While wondering if -- or when -- a fault line will ever devour the city whole, one can't help but applaud the Kiwis' use of the Mantle vomit. Curbstones, walkways, and breakwaters are all black basalta, desendant from the magma that birthed the landscape. The volcanoes, though, bequeathed the Kiwis massive hills, and bequeathed Chuck and me massive thighs.

Perhaps Auckland's best title, though, is plastered at you when you cross through customs: "The Gateway to New Zealand." (This, incidentally, easily beats Indonesia's "Death to Drug Traffickers" welcome.) In this sense, the town served its purpose admirably, affording us a chance to sleep for the first time in 3 days, dabble in a bit of Kiwi English, and develop legs that could roundhouse kick the entire ANZAC army clear across Belgium.

But tomorrow, the trek begins.

Matt